Got Gas?

Its still pretty still on the homefront......except for a gas shortage that is making life in Metro Atlanta very unpleasant. Winder, the town we live in has literally been without gas for a week and a half now. I learned my lesson the hard way, (i.e. driving around for an hour with a tired, hungry, cranky kid) and have been filling up anywhere I can find it since almost two weeks ago, sometimes to the tune of nearly $5 a gallon. Needless to say, with a three hour a day commute....... this is cause for concern. Our local government keeps promising relief "in a few days", which is now going on three weeks. We are all praying to catch a break and who knows......if it gets bad enough, rumor has it the Governor is thinking about granting a state-wide paid-day-off!

Tagged - Thank you Sunny!

1. I'm in bed EVERY night by 9:30. Period.
2. I work under the first African American, FEMALE Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
3. I LOVE McDonalds. Really.
4. My best friend (south of the Mason-Dixon line) is moving to Japan next month......for 4 years.
5. I secretly miss Idaho.
6. I can burp like a truck driver.
7. I LOVE Jack Daniels.

I don't think I have any friends that haven't already been tagged!

Our Little Gator

Things have been pretty quiet at the Little house this week...... oh, do you ever get the feeling you just jinxed yourself? Basically I have nothing major to report...... Jaydan got his first time-out at daycare yesterday, but the only thing that surprised me about that was that it was his first?!? Basically I'm adding this post so I can have an excuse to add these pictures of our Little man in his Gator Gear. For those of you who aren't from the South...... college football here is like a religion and the fans are rabid.We began the brainwashing before he was ever born by painting his room in Florida's orange and blue..... and, as you can see, its paying off! Go Gators!

Hallelujah

As the Mom of an almost-16-month-old, I'm only just beginning to realize the meaning of "out of the mouthes of babes". Tuesday, when I picked Jaydan up from daycare our beloved Ms. Kate said, "Jaydan, show Mama what you learned today" and raised her arms above her head. My sweet baby boy threw his little arms up and said, "Halalalauah"...... it wasn't perfect, but it was a very close (and oh-so-cute) imitation of her "Hallelujah". It melted my heart and made me think..... we really probably should get this kid in a church somewhere.
The other significant thing that happened this weekend, was that my husband lost my cell phone. Technically, he put it on top of my car (don't ask) and I drove off with it up here, so, as he informs me, it was a joint effort. I spent 2 1/2 hours on Saturday beating the bush on the side of the highway looking for it. I prayed.....literally, "God, if you'll let me find my phone, I promise I will get into a church". Viola..... next morning I called my phone and the neighbor answered. He had found it on his morning walk.
These two forces combined and resulted in Jaydan and I heading into Winder for church. Jeff was raised Methodist, which is somewhat important to him so we found a Methodist Church with a contemporary service......more my speed. I enjoyed it, Jaydan enjoyed it and we'll be back...... Hallelujah.

Jaydan's Rough Week

So Jaydan's week got off to a rough start, in the form of shots on Monday. He's getting to an age now where he's retaining some stuff, so....... the first shot surprised him and protested by screaming bloody murder. He was so busy screaming about the first one that the second one snuck up on him. She came back a third time, to put bandages on and he was like "Oh, Hell No" and put up a fight, shoving her hands away. I'm pretty sure that two shots in our new limit. He also fought poor Dr. Schlossberg, biting the tongue compressor when he tried to look in his mouth. Doc decided it wasn't THAT important to see those new teeth..... I THINK he has a new big tooth in the back this week, but I'm not sure because he's decided that people looking in his mouth is a very bad thing.
That same night I grilled out and let him play in the back yard while I was cooking. A mosquito bit his forehead...... I put some cortizone cream on it and didn't think too much of it. Jeff commented that it was a nasty bite the next morning after he dropped him off. When I picked him up that night he looked like a fetal alcohol syndrome baby. He had a huge goose egg on his forehead, the bridge of his nose was swollen almost flat and his right eye was all puffed up. Naturally, I called Doc and he said give him some benadryl and keep doing the cortizone cream and it should look better in a few days! It DID look better yesterday but the swelling is moving to the other side. All of this, AND the mystery tooth and no one is sure exists...... its not easy being the Fatty Pigger this week.

Weekend fun

We had a wonderful, but busy weekend. Our Super-Daddy bought us all tickets to see "Elmo Live" at Philips Arena on Saturday. We had been talking about going, but weren't sure if Jaydan was old enough to enjoy it (and justify the money) yet. On Friday, Jeff took the plunge and got tickets and I have to say it was money well spent. Jaydan had his own seat and we pushed it up, so he had his own little dance floor and boy did he work it. I would say for the first half hour or so he stood there, hanging on to the seat in front of him and CUT A RUG. He danced and sang, clapped and shouted with joy! It was sooooo too cute. Even after he kind of lost interest in the show, he was fascinated with all of the kids. There is no price tag you can put on seeing your kids face light up like that.
Sunday, we went to Jeff's parents house. Nana has been feeding some ducks in her back yard so they are pretty tame and come right up to you when you feed them (they take food from her hand). So, Jaydan got to feed the ducks. Again with the cuteness, he would stand there with a chip in his little hand and look at the duck and say "heeth, heeth,", which translates to "please, please". At one point they got a little close for comfort and one even pecked his fat little foot a couple of times. After a few initial howls of indignation he was right back at it. "Heeth, heeth".

September 11

I am seeing a lot of people reminiscing about where they were or what they were doing on September 11, 2001...... the day New York, The United States and the World changed.. I was home sick in bed. I remember my roomate and best friend Holly running into my room telling me to turn on the TV there was a plane wreck in New York and things were exploding and "they think this might be a big deal". There was so much chaos for so much of that day...... it was so hard to make sense of what was happening...... hard to believe that someone would actually do something like this on purpose.....and hard to image how many people's lives were changing, in a big way, right before our eyes. I was 23 years old and had never experienced anything like that (and haven't since..... hope to never again). My most profound memory of that day is seeing the shape of a plane punched out of the second tower..... it was like someone had taken a cookie cutter to the side of a BUILDING and no matter how deep the denial, at that point there wasn't much question of what was going on. I went back to work the next day at PAML (boy, I hated that job) and I remember portable TV's set up in every break room and thats where we all sat in silence and watched what was still unfolding in New York. I can honestly say that that day had more impact on my life than any other day, ever and I really believe that life as an American will never be the same. I remember such a surge of patriotism.......an almost fierce pride in being an American...............and the strongest sense of community I have ever experienced. For once Americans truly were United like only a tragedy can bring people together. Sadly, I think we've lost sight of that since and I can only hope that the "Powers that be" took something genuine with them from that day...... and that all of those lives weren't lost in vain.

Home Again

My boys made it home yesterday. It was wonderful to lay eyes and lips on my Little guy...... I swear he's changed even in the few days they've been gone. He also came back with a cold, I think..... either that or he's cutting some whopper teeth. He's snotty and feverish and fussy, and its STILL great to have him home.

Boy-cation

My boys took a little Man-cation to Florida for a few days. I miss them terribly, BUT we've been at this long enough now that I can appreciate having some "Tori time". Saturday I painted Jaydan's bathroom..... I turned out so cute (I'll try to post pics) and watched football. Yesterday I did some big jobs around the house that are just impossible to get to with an active 15 month old (like cleaning the pantry). I know the rest of their trip will go fast b/c I'm back at work now. I also am so proud of Jeff, that he's the kind of Dad that is willing to take Jaydan on their own little adventure by himself. It's good for them to work things out together, on their own, without Mom's input. I know that things won't get done the way I would do them....... and even though that drives me crazy, really, its ok. I enjoyed my nice, quiet weekend and now I'm looking forward to getting them back home.

Trip to Idaho

Our trip to Idaho was wonderful, as usual. It was a busy one, with wedding stuff but we got to spend lots of QT w/ friends and family. Jaydan and Jazzy are beginning to have mini-power struggles, which I'm sure there is more of to come...... but it is so cute to watch them play and interact. They seem to have a very special relationship and have since really early on....... during our first trip, Jaydan was only 4 months old and Jazzy would get very distressed to hear him cry or fuss. They are pretty in-tune to each other and I look forward to watching them grow up together.
It was great to get to spend some time with my Grandparents and Aunt, also, although I hear my Grandma is not clipping articles on "Dealing with Kids That Throw Tantrums" now :)